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Jeremy Willis, ESPN.com
Jimbo Fisher is out as the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies. He was dismissed on Sunday, a few games shy of the end of his sixth season in College Station, the school announced.
Fisher, who coached the Florida State Seminoles to the 2013 BCS national championship, left for Texas A&M at the end of the 2017 season. With the Aggies, Fisher had a 45-25 record but did not match his previous success. Under Fisher, the Aggies had a 27-21 record in SEC West play, and their highest finish in the division was second place (twice).
But the most-talked-about figure regarding Fisher’s tenure in Aggieland was the size of his buyout. When he was hired, Fisher signed a 10-year, $75 million contract. Before the 2021 season, the contract was extended to 2031, raising his annual salary to $9 million. Two years later, Fisher is now owed $76.8 million. It’s the largest buyout in college football history, and he’s getting every cent.
What could you buy with all of that money? Let’s take a look at some options.
10 Pagani Huayra Codalungas or Jay-Z’s private jet
If you’re unfamiliar with the world of mega-pricey, high-end sports cars, the Pagani Huayra Codalunga is the most expensive car in the world. The Italian-made car sells for $7.4 million. The car has a V-12 engine and a top speed of 230 miles per hour. Maybe save some buyout money for the speeding tickets.
If ground travel doesn’t do it, there’s the Bombardier Challenger 850, the jet preferred by hip-hop icon Jay-Z. That goes for $40 million. There would be enough money left over for fuel and a pilot.
Get really good actors for a movie
Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio was paid $30 million for his past two movies (“Don’t Look Up” and “Killers of the Flower Moon”), according to Variety. You could reunite DiCaprio with Margot Robbie, who starred with DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The Oscar nominee and actor who played Barbie got a salary of $12.5 million, according to Variety, for her role in the 2023 blockbuster, though that rose to $50 million with box office bonuses.
The Weeknd’s house
If Fisher wants to relocate after leaving Texas A&M, he could do it in this Bel Air, California, home. In 2021, The Weeknd purchased the 33,000-square foot home in Los Angeles for $70 million. The R&B star’s home features indoor and outdoor pools and a home movie theater — maybe a screen big enough for Fisher to break down film.
All the greatest sports collectibles
If you want to turn collector with all that cash, consider the world of memorabilia.
For $76.8 million, you could buy the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card (sold for $12.6 million in 2022); the famed Honus Wagner T206 baseball card, considered the holy grail of collectibles (sold for $7.25 million in 2022); rookie cards for Pele, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James and Wayne Gretzky (sold between 2021-22 for a combined $17.68 million) a 1998 Michael Jordan NBA Finals jersey (sold for $10.091 million in 2022); Diego Maradona’s jersey from the “Hand of God” game (sold for $9.28 million in 2022); Wayne Gretzky’s jersey from his last Edmonton Oilers game (sold for $1.452 million in 2022); and Babe Ruth’s baseball glove (sold for $1.53 million in 2022). You’d have money left over to insure them all.
Fine art
If sports collectibles aren’t interesting, there’s art. While the buyout wouldn’t be enough to buy the most expensive painting ever sold — Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” (sold for $450.3 million in 2017) — it could get you a decent work.
If you’re into Impressionists, Vincent Van Gogh’s 1889 work “Cabanes de bois parmi les oliviers et cyprès” was sold by Christie’s for $71.35 million in 2021. Claude Monet’s 1917 work “Le Bassin aux nymphéas” went for $74 million in an auction this weekend.
A private island
Listed on the real estate site privateislandsonline.com is a 716-acre island in the Turneffe Atoll near Belize. According to the listing, it has 3 kilometers of beaches and deep-water access. The price tag is $60 million.